Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Korea Notes 4

Here's the last of my notes to overseas service studios. I hope they were helpful to someone out there!

On my last Korean show, the animators took our layouts and merely inbetweened them. The effect was that everyone floated from pose to pose. Nothing was favored. It was like the characters were underwater. It cost a fortune in retakes. We oughta just bring animation back to the country. Some of the budgets I've seen on modern flat shows could easily afford real animation. I see the shows and can't figure out where the money went.Sometimes when people clean up animators' drawings, the characters end up fatter. That's because the clean up artist is drawing his lines on the outside of the animator's lines, rather than right on top.

On my last Korean show, the animators took our layouts and merely inbetweened them. The effect was that everyone floated from pose to pose. Nothing was favored.

It amazes me to learn that such basic things were beyond your control. Until this blog I had no appreciation for how difficult it is to get something good done anymore, even if you are trying really hard.

Even I who have not wanted a cartoon career in maybe 30 years know enough about in-betweening to know that you can't just space all the drawings evenly, if you want it to look like anything dynamic.

I guess part of the problem is all the hack shows out there that don't even care about this stuff. They have the effect of devolving the skill level of the industry since skill isn't much needed to do what they want done.

Hi JohnI was reading your notes about storyboarding, but the last page was incomplete, I guess. It says "PLACE YOUR SCENE P".Or maybe I just dont get it.Thanks for your post, it keeps helping me a lot in my animations.

Regarding your recent listing of donors, I just wanted to let you know CC Marketing is actually me, Cliff Galbraith. I should change my Paypal account to reflect that. But I wanted you to know I donated because you've really helped me with my understanding of this medium. I check your blog every few days and am constantly amazed at the depth of your understanding and rare ability to teach this very rich history and technique in small, easily digestible bites.

I'd like to make one observation if I may -- it's about perception. When I first saw the donate button, I saw it as digital panhandling. As I continued to read your blog on a regular basis, I felt very differently about contributing -- I came to greatly value the message and your commitment to passing on the techniques of the masters.

Many other readers may still have the same impression I once had about donations. Maybe it's the word "donation" that's the problem. I don't believe Radiohead is asking for a "donation" but rather for fans to pay what they think the material is worth. There may be something there you could use from Radiohead's model. A donation implies helplessness or neediness, a payment is for services rendered. You’ve done a service, and deserve payments, not handouts. PBS and NPR ask for a dollar a day or a dollar a week -- they break it down to saying it’s less than the cost of cable or a news paper or an overpriced cup of coffee. I believe an education in animation is worth far more than slurping down Starbucks.

Since reading your blog, I have joined ASIFA East, and taken steps to change my career to animation. I recently had my first article published in the ASIFA East newsletter.

Thank you for your effort. If you've ever wondered if anyone out here was paying attention, if it was worth all the trouble, if you've made a difference and shaped people's thinking, the answer is an emphatic YES!